{"id":1545,"date":"2011-08-22T17:22:32","date_gmt":"2011-08-22T17:22:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/?p=1545"},"modified":"2011-08-22T17:27:28","modified_gmt":"2011-08-22T17:27:28","slug":"does-rick-perrys-texas-have-room-for-solar-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2011\/08\/22\/does-rick-perrys-texas-have-room-for-solar-power\/","title":{"rendered":"Does Rick Perry’s Texas Have Room For Solar Power?"},"content":{"rendered":"
Running on Energy<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Source: Texas Tribune<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One of the fundamental propositions of Rick Perry’s presidential run is that energy policy in Texas has been successful in de-carbonizing our grid.\u00a0 The claim is a pretty big stretch, considering that we still generate more carbon dioxide than any other state and, as far as it relates to our successful renewable energy mandates, he may have something to brag about.\u00a0 Perry has been eager to take credit for their success in boosting wind energy, although he’s not always the first to point to the mandates that lead to such unprecedented wind growth.\u00a0 It’s been easy for Perry to support wind power, after all, success has a thousand fathers, and the most meaningful legislation was assembled without much involvement from him or his office<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Perry’s support for solar, however, has always been a trickier issue even though it’s incredibly popular with voters across the political spectrum<\/a>. \u00a0Even though voters want to see Texas go solar, it’s anathema to some of his biggest fundraisers<\/a> and allies such as homebuilder Bob Perry, who worked to weaken homeowner’s rights to install solar on their own roofs, and the Koch brothers<\/a>, who have opposed clean energy in other states.\u00a0 So far, Perry has managed to walk a tightrope with his typical political savvy – pointing to legislation he signed or supported while working behind the scenes to undercut the movement towards a real solar industry in Texas.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Walking the Political Tightrope<\/strong><\/p>\n

Perry signed legislation in 2005 establishing a 500 MW non-wind renewable energy mandate and in 2007 strengthening that same mandate. His appointees at the public utilities commission (PUC) and Perry himself have been slow on doing anything meaningful with the legislation, leading to uncertainty for businesses wishing to grow in Texas.\u00a0 Most people in the industry saw this legislation as a way to push solar development in largely the same way the original mandate pushed in wind development.\u00a0 Now, in an article in the Texas Tribune<\/a>, it sounds like Perry\u2019s spokesman, Mark Miner, wants to pretend his boss never signed those laws.\u00a0 In fact, it sounds like he doesn’t think Texas has any real potential as a state for solar development [emphasis mine]:<\/p>\n

“If you\u00a0mandate a specific technology, you run the risk of getting stuck with high\u00a0costs, and such mandates have failed to pass the Legislature in the past.\u00a0The state making a decision based on its own conditions is different than forcing a one-size-fits-all approach on the whole nation. For example, South Dakota, Texas, and other states in the Plains\u00a0have great potential for wind because of the climate and geography; other states have good potential for solar<\/span><\/strong>,\u00a0but that is not the same for every state.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

As Miner notes, the original mandate for wind that Perry signed into law was less than ten percent of peak demand, making it so small as to have no significant impact to consumers and, therefore, a reasonable goal for the state of Texas.\u00a0 By comparison, the 500 MW goal Perry did sign into law \u2013 though his appointees at the PUC failed to act on it \u2013 would be less than one percent of total peak demand, having an even smaller impact than the original wind mandate.\u00a0 It is now quite apparent with his recent appointment of Commissioner and outspoken renewable energy opponent, Donna Nelson, as Chair of the PUC that Perry wants to ensure that Texas never reaches the goal he signed into law though.. This results in the likely killing of any renewable energy progress at the PUC, including future legislation, should it pass.
\n
\nMaybe the Sun Doesn’t Shine on Texas<\/strong><\/p>\n

It’s as if Perry and spokesman Miner think Texas doesn’t have any real solar potential, which makes me wonder if they’ve read their own reports on renewable energy<\/a>, showing solar power could supply Texas’ energy needs many times over.\u00a0 His claim that Texas chooses not to provide incentives based on technology is laughable in the face of Texas’ $1.2 billion\/year “high cost” natural gas tax exemption<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Maybe Perry needs to make a trip to San Antonio where they recently increased their solar goal to 400 MW after seeing how cheap solar proposals are today.\u00a0 This is in addition to about 44 MW they’ve already installed or contracted, in other words almost the entirety of the 500 MW non-wind mandate that Perry signed into law but refuses support.\u00a0 Some of Perry’s funders and allies argue that solar is too expensive, but the largest municipal utility in the state (and country) with some of the lowest electric rates in the state, just decided to invest in solar in a big way for two reasons that fit right in with Perry’s ideal energy policy: San Antonio wants to keep electric rates low and solar will help them do that; it also wants to grow jobs, a key outcome to their clean energy strategy.\u00a0 Perry has been touting himself as the “jobs governor” since he started running as a nominee for President, so you’d think the smart jobs policies of cities like San Antonio,<\/a> Houston, and Austin centered around clean energy would be the perfect message.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Unfortunately Perry seems uninterested, either because the corporations and people who have funded him are opposed or because he just doesn’t think Texas has the potential to be a real solar state.\u00a0 Either way it’s disappointing, and I’m sure that the solar industry would agree. For the first time this fall, the solar industry is bringing its largest business conference to Texas. \u00a0Thanks in part to Perry’s solar equivocation, industry (valued at over $38.5 billion globally<\/a>) may not be sure if Texas is ready for the big time, despite the fact that voters want to see solar in Texas.\u00a0 For a jobs governor being on the wrong side of businesses that want to bring jobs to Texas and voters who want to see solar power here, it sure seems like a bad place to be, especially when unemployment in Texas is the worst it’s been in 24 years<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Running on Energy One of the fundamental propositions of Rick Perry’s presidential run is that energy policy in Texas has been successful in de-carbonizing our grid.\u00a0 The claim is a pretty big stretch, considering that we still generate more carbon dioxide than any other state and, as far as it relates to our successful renewable …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1508,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[177,181],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-1545","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-renewable-energy","category-texas"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDoes Rick Perry's Texas Have Room For Solar Power? - Energy Exchange<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2011\/08\/22\/does-rick-perrys-texas-have-room-for-solar-power\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Does Rick Perry's Texas Have Room For Solar Power? - Energy Exchange\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Running on Energy One of the fundamental propositions of Rick Perry’s presidential run is that energy policy in Texas has been successful in de-carbonizing our grid.\u00a0 The claim is a pretty big stretch, considering that we still generate more carbon dioxide than any other state and, as far as it relates to our successful renewable ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2011\/08\/22\/does-rick-perrys-texas-have-room-for-solar-power\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Energy Exchange\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-08-22T17:22:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2011-08-22T17:27:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/2011\/08\/PerryEnergyForms_jpg_800x1000_q1005-300x198.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2011\\\/08\\\/22\\\/does-rick-perrys-texas-have-room-for-solar-power\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2011\\\/08\\\/22\\\/does-rick-perrys-texas-have-room-for-solar-power\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"Does Rick Perry’s Texas Have Room For Solar Power?\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-08-22T17:22:32+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-08-22T17:27:28+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2011\\\/08\\\/22\\\/does-rick-perrys-texas-have-room-for-solar-power\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1035,\"commentCount\":5,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2011\\\/08\\\/22\\\/does-rick-perrys-texas-have-room-for-solar-power\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/wp-content\\\/blogs.dir\\\/38\\\/files\\\/2011\\\/08\\\/PerryEnergyForms_jpg_800x1000_q1005-300x198.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Renewable Energy\",\"Texas\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2011\\\/08\\\/22\\\/does-rick-perrys-texas-have-room-for-solar-power\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2011\\\/08\\\/22\\\/does-rick-perrys-texas-have-room-for-solar-power\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2011\\\/08\\\/22\\\/does-rick-perrys-texas-have-room-for-solar-power\\\/\",\"name\":\"Does Rick Perry's Texas Have Room For Solar Power? - Energy Exchange\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2011\\\/08\\\/22\\\/does-rick-perrys-texas-have-room-for-solar-power\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2011\\\/08\\\/22\\\/does-rick-perrys-texas-have-room-for-solar-power\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/wp-content\\\/blogs.dir\\\/38\\\/files\\\/2011\\\/08\\\/PerryEnergyForms_jpg_800x1000_q1005-300x198.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-08-22T17:22:32+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-08-22T17:27:28+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2011\\\/08\\\/22\\\/does-rick-perrys-texas-have-room-for-solar-power\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2011\\\/08\\\/22\\\/does-rick-perrys-texas-have-room-for-solar-power\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2011\\\/08\\\/22\\\/does-rick-perrys-texas-have-room-for-solar-power\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/wp-content\\\/blogs.dir\\\/38\\\/files\\\/2011\\\/08\\\/PerryEnergyForms_jpg_800x1000_q1005-300x198.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/wp-content\\\/blogs.dir\\\/38\\\/files\\\/2011\\\/08\\\/PerryEnergyForms_jpg_800x1000_q1005-300x198.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2011\\\/08\\\/22\\\/does-rick-perrys-texas-have-room-for-solar-power\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Does Rick Perry’s Texas Have Room For Solar Power?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/\",\"name\":\"Energy Exchange\",\"description\":\"Accelerating the clean energy revolution\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/author\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Does Rick Perry's Texas Have Room For Solar Power? - Energy Exchange","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2011\/08\/22\/does-rick-perrys-texas-have-room-for-solar-power\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Does Rick Perry's Texas Have Room For Solar Power? - Energy Exchange","og_description":"Running on Energy One of the fundamental propositions of Rick Perry’s presidential run is that energy policy in Texas has been successful in de-carbonizing our grid.\u00a0 The claim is a pretty big stretch, considering that we still generate more carbon dioxide than any other state and, as far as it relates to our successful renewable ...","og_url":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2011\/08\/22\/does-rick-perrys-texas-have-room-for-solar-power\/","og_site_name":"Energy Exchange","article_published_time":"2011-08-22T17:22:32+00:00","article_modified_time":"2011-08-22T17:27:28+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/2011\/08\/PerryEnergyForms_jpg_800x1000_q1005-300x198.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2011\/08\/22\/does-rick-perrys-texas-have-room-for-solar-power\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2011\/08\/22\/does-rick-perrys-texas-have-room-for-solar-power\/"},"author":{"name":"","@id":""},"headline":"Does Rick Perry’s Texas Have Room For Solar Power?","datePublished":"2011-08-22T17:22:32+00:00","dateModified":"2011-08-22T17:27:28+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2011\/08\/22\/does-rick-perrys-texas-have-room-for-solar-power\/"},"wordCount":1035,"commentCount":5,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2011\/08\/22\/does-rick-perrys-texas-have-room-for-solar-power\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/2011\/08\/PerryEnergyForms_jpg_800x1000_q1005-300x198.jpg","articleSection":["Renewable Energy","Texas"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2011\/08\/22\/does-rick-perrys-texas-have-room-for-solar-power\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2011\/08\/22\/does-rick-perrys-texas-have-room-for-solar-power\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2011\/08\/22\/does-rick-perrys-texas-have-room-for-solar-power\/","name":"Does Rick Perry's Texas Have Room For Solar Power? - Energy Exchange","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2011\/08\/22\/does-rick-perrys-texas-have-room-for-solar-power\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2011\/08\/22\/does-rick-perrys-texas-have-room-for-solar-power\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/2011\/08\/PerryEnergyForms_jpg_800x1000_q1005-300x198.jpg","datePublished":"2011-08-22T17:22:32+00:00","dateModified":"2011-08-22T17:27:28+00:00","author":{"@id":""},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2011\/08\/22\/does-rick-perrys-texas-have-room-for-solar-power\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2011\/08\/22\/does-rick-perrys-texas-have-room-for-solar-power\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2011\/08\/22\/does-rick-perrys-texas-have-room-for-solar-power\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/2011\/08\/PerryEnergyForms_jpg_800x1000_q1005-300x198.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/2011\/08\/PerryEnergyForms_jpg_800x1000_q1005-300x198.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2011\/08\/22\/does-rick-perrys-texas-have-room-for-solar-power\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Does Rick Perry’s Texas Have Room For Solar Power?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/","name":"Energy Exchange","description":"Accelerating the clean energy revolution","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"","url":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/author\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1545","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1508"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1545"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1545\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1545"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=1545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}